Blue Ice
by LA Calleigh
Summary: Just a short one-shot that popped into my head after the last episode, giving one reason that Horatio was keeping his distance from Calleigh.


Blue Ice

I just couldn't take the lack of DuCaine on the show…and the latest ep gave me an idea, so here I go, jumping off the deep end into my first CSIM fic!

Calleigh didn't know how long she could take it. He'd given her the silent treatment, kept his distance, since that night. She'd confronted him about letting everyone think he was dead. She knew at the time that going to his house in the middle of the night was probably not a good idea, but if she was going to lay there awake, by God, so could he. Her emotions were raw; she was totally out of control. She didn't know exactly how it happened. One minute their argument had escalated into a full blown screaming match, the next time her brain clicked into gear, they were in his bed, basking in afterglow.

Now, he would avoid her at all costs. Even when he made eye contact, his once twinkling blue eyes had turned to ice. This latest case reminded her of why she now hated blue; the sweet little girl with the blonde hair and blue eyes, HIS ice blue eyes, and the blue stick lying in her bathroom trash. She took a deep breath as she was examining the fragmented bullet, then rushed to the bathroom to empty her stomach for the fifth time today, or was it the sixth? She'd lost count, and for the first time, she was glad Alexx wasn't here to call her on it. She smiled as she thought of her best friend. She knew she'd have to tell her soon, but she also knew that she'd call Horatio and give him one hell of a tongue lashing.

She splashed some cold water on her face and looked in the mirror. She looked like hell and she knew it. The lack of sleep and the morning sickness were really taking their toll on the southern beauty. As she exited the bathroom, she literally ran into the one man she did NOT want to see.

He looked into her eyes for the first time in weeks. "Are you feeling all right, Calleigh?"

"Not really, Horatio. This case is really getting to me."

"We've worked child abductions before, what's different about this one? You look like you haven't been sleeping."

"Just let it go for now, OK? I have to talk to you, but not here."

"All right, meet me in my office when you have the ballistics report."

"I said not here, Horatio. This has nothing to do with the case."

"But, you just said…"

"Yeah, I know, I said the case was getting to me, but the reason it's getting' to me is what I need to talk to you about."

"How about I take you to dinner and we can talk?"

Oh, great NOW he wants to take me out. "Um, no, I'm not sure a public place is a good thing. How about you come over and I fix you dinner at my place."

"Calleigh, the last time we were alone we, uh," He fumbled for the right words.

"I don't think there'll be a huge screaming match this time. At least I hope not."

"All right, I'll bring some wine, and meet you at about seven, how's that? You can plan on going home early, just as soon as you get that bullet identified."

"Then you'd better let me get back to work, I'd love to go home early and lie down for a bit." She gave him a warm smile as she walked away. 'Oh, please don't let there be a screaming match', she thought.

She finished piecing the bullet back together at around three o'clock, and ran the results up to Horatio's office. "Here you go, Boss, is it still OK for me to leave?"

"Absolutely, I'll see you in a few hours."

Calleigh breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't push her to tell him what the problem was. She knew she still needed to get a confirming blood test, so she stopped by the free clinic on her way home. If she went to her own doctor, her medical results would be on record with the department, and she wasn't ready for that just yet. An hour later she exited the clinic with the results in hand. She was still pregnant.

She pulled into her driveway and made her way into her house. She tossed her purse on the table and let out a heavy sigh as she dropped herself onto the sofa. She'd been through so much these past eight weeks, any of those things could have harmed the baby she was carrying. She rested her hand on her abdomen and smiled. "You're a tough one, aren't you? Now let's just see how your daddy feels about you." Of course he would want this baby. She saw how he reacted when he found out about Kyle. She was the one that sat with him the night that he let his emotions over missing his son's childhood out. She was one of the few people that he would let see him cry.

She looked at the clock as the doorbell rang. As usual, he was right on time. She opened the door with a smile, and he held up the bottle as he stepped in. "Something smells wonderful."

"It's just spaghetti, Horatio. I know how you love Italian food."

"That sounds wonderful, and I brought the perfect wine for that."

She was going to have to think fast to get out of drinking that wonderful wine. "Um, I think I'm going to stick with water tonight, my stomach is still a bit queasy." That wasn't really a lie. She had butterflies the size of dive bombers in her stomach.

"Well, then, how about I just leave the wine here for another time, and I'll have water as well."

She smiled and nodded. "Why don't you have a seat and I'll get dinner on the table?"

"Can I help?"

"Nope, everything's all set." She carried in the casserole dish with the spaghetti and meatballs, then turned around and grabbed the salad bowl out of the refrigerator. "It's a good thing you're always on time; I was able to have everything ready to serve." She opened the oven and pulled out the freshly baked French bread.

They ate and chatted about everything going on in their lives, like they used to do long ago. That was before Marisol's death, before Julia appeared with his son, only to try to take him away again. It was before Jake reappeared in her life, then broke her heart before going back underground without as much as a goodbye. Horatio helped her clear the table and load the dishwasher when they were done, then they settled on the sofa with their coffee and dessert.

"So, you said you needed to talk, what's up? You looked so serious today."

Tears began to rim her eyes. She didn't know if she could do this.

"Calleigh?" He spoke softly as he reached out to touch her arm.

"I, uh, God, Horatio, I don't know how to tell you this." The tear rolled down her cheek.

"You're not quitting, are you?"

She shook her head lightly. "It's just hard because you've completely shut me out these past couple of months. It's like after what happened you don't even want to be in the same room with me."

"Calleigh, it's not that I don't want to. It's that I'm afraid of what might happen."

"OK, now you've lost me."

"What happened that night could easily happen again. I almost didn't come over tonight for that reason."

"So, basically, you're sorry it happened."

"I didn't say that; don't put words in my mouth."

"God, here we go again. Can we please do this without fighting?" She batted away another tear.

"All right, I'm sorry. I'm sure you had more to tell me than the fact that we've been distant."

'We', she thought. "Wait here just one minute." She disappeared into her bedroom, and then came out with an envelope. "Before you open that, let me just say that's it's a confirmation of what I'm about to tell you."

She didn't have time to finish. He opened the envelope and saw the white stick with the blue line. He looked up at her, and then back at the envelope. He pulled out the test results from the clinic's blood work, and then looked up at her with tears of his own. "You're pregnant?"

"Yeah, look, I'm sorry. I know this is the last thing you wanted right now..." She didn't have a chance to finish. He pulled her close and kissed her gently.

"It's not the last thing, Calleigh, I'm just surprised, that's all. Let's see, that would make us about 2 months along, right?"

"That's what the doctor at the clinic said. I didn't want to go through the work insurance, in case you didn't want the baby."

"Why would I not want the baby, Calleigh?"

"I know, Horatio, I know…it's just that all kinds of horrible scenarios have been playing in my head."

"Well, stop over thinking it. I think what happened that night was the result of seven years of feelings we never expressed. Once we let our guards down, we allowed our true emotions to take over."

"So now what?"

"Tomorrow I'll put in a call to the chief so he can put a leash on Stetler. I don't want him upsetting you at all. Then, we need to work on our relationship. You're right, I have been distant, and so that's going to change."

"Oh, my God, Horatio, what about Eric?"

"What does he have to do with this?"

"I'm not supposed to know, but I accidentally read it when we had to read that psychiatrists files a few weeks back."

"Not supposed to know what?"

"He told the doctor that he thinks he's ready to settle down, and he wants it to be with me."

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, as of this moment you are taken. Speaking of taken, how far are you willing to take our relationship?"

"How far do you want me to take it?"

"Well, Sweetheart, if we're going to be raising children, I'd like us to be married."

"Wait a minute, who said children? I know we're havin' one, but…" she grinned at him and batted his arm. "You'd really want to have more with me?"

"As many as you want, Calleigh. It might be fun to actually TRY to have one, not just conceive one in a night of…what was that, anyway?"

"I guess you could call it make up sex, either that or either have sex with me or kill me sex." She let out a giggle. From what she remembered of it, it was the best damn sex of her life.

He pulled her over into his arms and held her tight. "So, you answered one question, how about the other one?"

"If we get married, what about work?"

"Let me handle that with the chief, all right?"

She moved into a more comfortable position and snuggled closer to him. "I'm glad you came over tonight."

He kissed the top of her head. "So am I, Calleigh. So am I." He looked up at the clock on the wall. "I guess I should head on home."

Calleigh turned around and straddled his lap. "Stay."

"Yes, Ma'am."

As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Calleigh grabbed her pajamas and slipped into the bathroom to change, allowing Horatio some privacy. He was already on her side of the bed when she returned to the room.

"Hey, you're on the wrong side, Handsome." She smiled as she moved to the empty side of the bed. "I suppose I can deal with it, as long as I'm in your arms." She climbed in and snuggled up against him after turning off the light.

He held her tight, listening as her gentle crying gave way to relaxed breathing, letting him know she was finally sleeping. It took every ounce of his energy to stop himself from making love to her. There would be many more days and nights for that. His last thoughts as he fell asleep were of the calls he had to make the next day. He needed to call the chief to inform him of the situation, so the department wouldn't try to separate them. Then he needed to call Calleigh's father, Duke, and ask him for her hand in marriage. He'd walked away from her many times, but this was not going to be one of them. They would never spend a night apart again.


End file.
